Gubernatorial Tidbits

Lieutenant Governor’s Debate: The candidates for Lt. Governor, Democratic Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver and Republican Mayor Carlos Rendo, held their only debate yesterday. The candidates went full throttle at their opposing party’s gubernatorial candidate over many issues including immigration, property taxes and the legalization of marijuana. The debate became especially heated over a recent attack ad aired by the Guadagno Campaign that portends that a Governor Murphy would turn New Jersey into “sanctuary state” to undocumented gang members who commit murders. The Murphy Campaign has denied that accusation, noting the spot misconstrues the Ambassador’s statements at a NJ Advanced Media Facebook Live Town Hall, and calls the ad racist.

More High-Profile Visits for Ambassador Murphy: The Murphy Campaign continues to bring in number of high profile national Democratic leaders to campaign for their effort. Last week, former Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore and former Secretary of State John Kerrey visited New Jersey to support Ambassador Murphy. Former President Barack Obama will campaign for him in Newark this Thursday. More prominent Democratic supporters are expected to campaign for the Ambassador between now and Election Day.

Phil Murphy Leads in Two More Polls: The Stockton Polling Institute Poll published last week finds Ambassador Murphy leading Lt. Governor Guadagno by 18 points amongst likely voters. And a Farleigh Dickinson PublicMind Poll released today finds the Ambassador ahead by 15 points. Both polls find Governor Christie’s unpopularity as a major a headwind for the Guadagno Campaign.

RCSG Clients Celebrate the Opening of Two New School Facilities in Franklin Twp. and Paterson

River Crossing Strategy Group congratulates our charter school clients on celebrating the recent opening of two new school facilities in New Jersey.

On October 10th, Central Jersey College Prep Charter School hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new, 93,000 state-of-the-art school facility in Franklin, NJ. Among the dignitaries who attend the ceremony was New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Kimberley Harrington, representatives from the NJDOE, Somerset County Sheriff Frank Provenzano, Somerset County Freeholders Patricia Walsh and Brian Levine and BPU Commissioner and former New Jersey State Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula.

Later in the week, on October 12th, Paterson Arts & Science Charter School held a successful ribbon cutting ceremony for its new school facility on Grand Street in Paterson. Elected officials on hand to celebrate the school’s opening included Senator Nellie Pou, Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, Paterson Mayor Jane Williams-Warren, Paterson Council President Ruby Cotton, Paterson Council Vice President Luis Velez and Paterson Sixth Ward Councilman Andre Sayegh.

Governor Chris Christie joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker, along with state and local officials, earlier this week to announce that the State of New Jersey has determined Newark as the ideal location for Amazon's second headquarters, known as HQ2.

"Newark is centrally located in the largest economic region, is a growing technology hub and offers the country's fastest Internet,” said Governor Christie. “It features an ecosystem that boasts unparalleled talent, connectivity, world-class higher education, vast transportation options and unique cultural amenities."

New Jersey's proposal could amount to upwards of $7 billion in potential credits against Amazon's HQ2 State and City taxes, including an incentive through the state Economic Development Authority (EDA) that could reach $5 billion over 10 years, with the creation of 50,000 new jobs; a City property tax abatement that could be worth $1 billion; and a City wage tax waiver that would allow Amazon HQ2 employees to keep an estimated $1 billion of their money over 20 years.